2013 YUKON RIVER STEAMBOAT SURVEY in INA Quarterly 40.3

WWW.NAUTICALARCH.ORG 1 FALL 2013 VOLUME 40, NO.3

2013 YUKON RIVER STEAMBOAT SURVEYDOCUMENTING THE WRECKS OF THE KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH

THE ROCKLEY BAY RESEARCH PROJECTIN SEARCH OF A 17TH-CENTURY NAVAL BATTLE

SIXTY YEARS OF SERVICECELEBRATING INA'S RESEARCH VESSEL

INA QUARTERLYTHE

A PUBLICATION OF THE INSTITUTE OF NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY

FOUNDERS George F. Bass, Ph.D. ◊John Baird †Michael Katzev †Jack W. Kelley ◊

OFFICERS/ ADMINISTRATION President* Deborah N. Carlson, Ph.D.Vice President Cemal M. Pulak, Ph.D.Vice President* Kevin J. Crisman, Ph.D.Office Manager Tamara HebertDive Safety Officer Jim Jobling

BODRUM RESEARCH CENTER Director Tûba EkmekçiFinance Manager Özlem Doğan

DIRECTORSOğuz AydemirGordon W. BassJosé L. Bermúdez, Ph.D.*Edward O. Boshell, Jr.John Cassils, M.D.Lucy Darden *Thomas F. DardenJohn De Lapa Chairman*Danielle J. Feeney *James A. Goold Secretary & General Counsel* Marc Grodman, M.D.Jeff HakkoR. Bowen Loftin, Ph.D.Rebecca MartinGreg Maslow, M.D.Alex G. NasonGeorge Robb, Jr.

DIRECTORS (CONTINUED) Lynn Baird ShawJason Sturgis*Robert L. Walker, Ph.D.*Lew WardRoger A. Williamson, M.D.Robyn Woodward, Ph.D. Treasurer *Sally M. YaminiKenan Yılmaz

ASSOCIATE DIRECTORSRaynette BoshellAllan Campbell, M.D.Stephen ChandlerWilliam C. Culp, M.D.Glenn DardenNicholas GriffisRobin P. HartmannFaith Hentschel, Ph.D.Susan KatzevWilliam C. Klein, M.D.George W. LodgeThomas McCasland, Jr.Dana F. McGinnisJeffrey MorrisMichael PlankTerry A. RayAnne Darden SelfBetsey Boshell ToddKen Trethewey, Ph.D.Garry A. Weber

BODRUM RESEARCH CENTER STAFFBilge Güneşdoğ̌du AkmanMiray Olcay AtaMustafa BabacıkMehmet ÇiftlikliZafer GülGülser Kazancıoğ̌luOrkan Köyağasıoğ̌luNurgül KülahSheila Matthews

BODRUM RESEARCH CENTER STAFF (CONTINUED)

Muammer Özdemir Adem Şirin Murat TilevAysel TokEdith TrnkaSüleyman TürelGüneş Yaşar

FACULTY, NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY PROGRAM AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Deborah N. Carlson, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Sara W. and George O. Yamini Fellow

Filipe Vieira de Castro, Ph.D. Professor, Frederick R. Mayer Professor of Nautical Archaeology II

Kevin J. Crisman, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Nautical Archaeology Faculty Fellow

Donny L. Hamilton, Ph.D. Professor, George T. & Gladys H. Abell Chair in Nautical Archaeology, Yamini Family Chair in Liberal Arts

Cemal M. Pulak, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Frederick R. Mayer Professor of Nautical Archaeology I

C. Wayne Smith, Ph.D. Associate Professor, INA Faculty Fellow

Shelley Wachsmann, Ph.D. Professor, Meadows Professor of Biblical Archaeology

EMERITUS FACULTY, NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY PROGRAM AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY George F. Bass, Ph.D. Distinguished Professor Emeritus

Fred van Doorninck, Jr., Ph.D.J. Richard Steffy†

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY GRADUATE FELLOWSMr. & Mrs. Ray H. Siegfried II Graduate Fellow Lilia CampanaMarian M. Cook Graduate Fellow Arianna DiMucci

AFFILIATED SCHOLARS Kroum Batchvarov, Ph.D. University of Connecticut

John Broadwater, Ph.D. Spritsail Enterprises

Arthur Cohn, J.D. Lake Champlain Maritime Museum

Mariá del Pilar Luna Erreguerena, M.A. National Institute of Anthropology and History

Ben Ford, Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Jeremy Green, M.A. Western Australia Maritime Museum

Elizabeth S. Greene, Ph.D. Brock University

Jerome Hall, Ph.D. University of San Diego

Faith Hentschel, Ph.D. Central Connecticut State University

Nicolle Hirschfeld, Ph.D. Trinity University

Frederick Hocker, Ph.D. Vasa Museum

Robert Hohlfelder, Ph.D. University of Colorado at Boulder

Mark Lawall, Ph.D. University of Manitoba

Justin Leidwanger, Ph.D. Stanford University

John McManamon, S.J. Loyola University

* Executive Committee | ◊ Non-voting Board | † Deceased2 INA QUARTERLY 40.3 FALL 2013

WWW.NAUTICALARCH.ORG 3

CONTENTS

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24ON THE COVER: The team assesses the situation from atop the collapsed superstructure of Seattle No. 3 -- one of the seven vessels in the West Dawson shipyard.

AFFILIATED SCHOLARS (CONTINUED)Harun Özdaş, Ph.D. Dokuz Eylül Universitesi

David Stewart, Ph.D. East Carolina University

Peter van Alfen, Ph.D. American Numismatic Society

Wendy Van Duivenvoorde, Ph.D. Flinders University

Cheryl Ward, Ph.D. Coastal Carolina University

Gordon P. Watts, Jr., Ph.D. Tidewater Atlantic Research

RESEARCH ASSOCIATES John A. AlbertsonJ. Barto Arnold, M.A. Piotr Bojakowski, Ph.D.Lilia Campana, M.A.Chris Cartellone, M.A. Alexis Catsambis, Ph.D.José Luis CasabánKatie Custer Bojakowski, Ph.D.Joshua Daniel, M.A.Matthew Harpster, Ph.D.Heather Hatch, M.A. Rebecca Ingram, Ph.D.Michael Jones, Ph.D.Jun Kimura, Ph.D.Margaret Leshikar-Denton, Ph.D.Berta Lledó Colin Martin, Ph.D. Veronica Morriss, M.A.Robert Neyland, Ph.D.Ralph K. Pedersen, Ph.D. Robin C. M. Piercy Juan Pinedo Reyes John Pollack, M.Sc. Mark Polzer, M.A. Kelby Rose, M.A.Donald Rosencrantz Jeff Royal, Ph.D. Randall Sasaki, M.A. George Schwarz, Ph.D.

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DEPARTMENTS

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

NEWS & EVENTS

REVIEW

RETROSPECTIVE

FIELD REPORTS

THE 2013 YUKON RIVER STEAMBOAT SURVEYDocumenting unique hull designs in the hulks and wrecks of the Klond-ike Gold RushBY JOHN POLLACK AND SEAN ADAMS

SEARCHING FOR THE 17TH CENTURY IN ROCKLEY BAY, TOBAGOSeeking out remains from the Franco-Dutch WarBY KROUM N. BATCHVAROV AND DOUGLAS INGLIS

ARTICLES

SIXTY YEARS OF SERVICECelebrating INA's Research Vessel, VirazonJOHN D. LITTLEFIELD

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Members of this INA project return for their eighth season locating and recording the maritime relics of the Klondike Gold Rush

In 2013, members of the Yukon River Steamboat Survey traveled north for our eighth season documenting the hulks

and wrecks of the Klondike Gold Rush. The numerous sites provide opportuni-ties to study the full range of stern-wheel steamboat designs of more than a century ago. To date we have learned there were many different styles of sternwheelers in the Yukon drainage. Practical shipbuild-ing was still the rule, designs evolved via builder's experience and 'trial and error,' and both personal and business risk were common aspects of Yukon steamboating.

This year we concentrated on two unique hull designs used on the river during the Klondike Gold Rush now near Dawson City.

THE STEAMBOAT TYRRELLThe 43.9 meter-long steamboat Tyrrell was

one of three composite-hull steamboats prefabricated for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in Toronto and then shipped by rail to Vancouver for assembly. Tyrrell was built at the Polson Iron Works while Minto and Moyie were built at the Bertram Iron Works. All three ships were

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BY JOHN POLLACK AND SEAN ADAMS

Opposite: Historic photo of the steamboat Tyrrell, circa 1900.

JOHN POLLACK AND SEAN ADAMS

THE 2013 YUKON RIVER STEAMBOAT SURVEY



destined for the new all-Canadian Stikine River route to the gold fields.

Tyrrell was launched in Vancouver on June 6, 1898 but the Stikine route had collapsed that spring, and the vessel was sold to the British America Corpora-tion. It was moved into the Yukon River drainage via St. Michael and subsequently worked on the Whitehorse-to-Dawson City route. Ownership eventually passed to the British Yukon Navigation Compa-ny, and the ship was laid up in the 1920s.

The Minto and Moyie remained unas-sembled in Vancouver. The CPR rerouted them to southeastern British Columbia to serve on the water routes connecting the

transcontinental railway lines. Both ships were lengthened by 6.0 m with steel parts fabricated in Toronto. The vessels’ active careers ended in the 1950s. Minto was scuttled in the Arrow Lakes whereas Moyie was preserved at Kaslo, BC as a National Heritage Site.

Tyrrell now lies opposite Dawson City at the old shipyard along with six other large stern-wheel steamboats. The hull is divided by two longitudinal bulkheads, and five transverse bulkheads to create 15 compartments. The bulkheads, sides, frames and deck beams are steel, but the lower hull planking is wood. The super-structure, one engine cylinder, boiler, paddle wheel and rudder system are miss-ing. Lying on the main deck is a second disconnected horizontal high pressure engine cylinder and a monkey rudder assembly.

Our assessment of Tyrrell was aided by

years of work inside Moyie at Kaslo, BC. The objective was to confirm differences in design, and we expected those differ-ences to be small. Our hypothesis was simple: all three Stikine vessels had been ordered at the same time by the largest transportation company in Canada, and the decision to lengthen the hull of the Moyie was made after the ships had been prefabricated in Toronto. Hence the only major difference would be an additional row of compartments, and Tyrrell should be identical to Moyie, except 6.0 m short-er. Six years later the CPR relied upon blueprints when ordering its three 61.6 m super stern-wheel steamboats. Tyrrell 's and Moyie's designs should be similar and it was possible the 1897 order marked the onset of a scientific shipbuilding approach for river steamboats in Canada.

After a single day in Tyrrell it was clear we were wrong; the design differences

From left: Project team for 2013 - Left to Right Sean Adams, Gisli Balzer, John Pollack and (seated) Tim Dowd; Sean Adams views the rudders, starboard tiller, and bustle stern of steamboat Victoria.


ADDITIONAL PHASES

were huge. A major difference occurs where the lowest frames in the bottom of the hull (floors) meet the two longitudi-nal bulkheads. In Moyie the longitudinal bulkheads rest atop the floors, and each floor consists of a continuous piece of U-channel running from the port to star-board chines. The gaps between the bot-tom of the longitudinal bulkheads and the floors are not watertight, and water can flow athwartships but not forward or aft past the watertight transverse bulkheads.

In Tyrrell the longitudinal bulkheads do not rest on the floors. Instead, these bulk-heads extend down to the bottom plank-

ing. The floors consist of three distinct segments that are attached with gussets and brackets to the sides of the longitudi-nal bulkheads. Hence no gaps exist below the longitudinal bulkheads in Tyrrell, and all 15 compartments in this vessel are water-tight whereas only two-thirds of Moyie's 18 compartments are watertight.

There are the markedly different ap-proaches to floor and frame design in the two vessels. The floors, side frames and brackets in Moyie were simplistic such that each frame station consisted of only five riveted structural elements, whereas Tyrrell required nine pieces not including numer-ous additional gussets and brackets used to attach the floors to the longitudinal bulkheads.

The hogging system provided a further surprise. A stern-wheel steamboat sup-

The team assesses the situation from atop the collapsed superstructure of Seattle No. 3 -- one of the seven vessels in the West Dawson shipyard.


SEAN ADAMSProject Member and quad-copter pilot

JOHN POLLACK Project Director and INA Research Associate, MSc PIfA

AUTHORSThe objective was to confirm differences in design, and we expected those differences to be small... After a single day in Tyrrell it was clear we were wrong.

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Coincidentally the 2002 excavation of Montana revealed a stern incorporating a bustle and skegs - hence, the Todds were familiar with this class of design.

Todd moved to Canada in 1882 to serve the chief navigational officer for the Western Coal and Navigation Company. This company intended to mine the rich coal seams in southern Alberta, and sup-ply the CPR's expanding transcontinen-tal rail lines. Todd constructed Baroness, in 1883, patterned after a twin-stacked Mississippi packet. By 1883-4 Josephus' brothers and sons were in Canada and building a fleet of three steamers and 25 barges. Additional archival research is needed to confirm whether Josephus Todd or his son John was the shipwright behind the construction of Victorian.

Today Victorian lies in the old ship-yard between Mary F. Graff and Tyrrell. Superstructure and machinery have been removed, and most of the 44.7 meter-long hull is open to the sky except for the 12 m nearest the bow. Engines, boiler(s), and paddle wheel are missing. The port cylinder beam and port rudder show signs of repair, possibly to deal with damage incurred during a grounding while being towed from the Stikine River to Alaska. The most dramatic feature is a complete tiller and rudder system at the stern, where three overhead tillers are in situ in wells between the transom and false transom.

This season we conducted a total station survey to capture the construction of the bustle stern, chines, tiller and rudders of Victorian. Minor excavation exposed two of the three partially-buried rudders. The work was timely as the stern was riddled with rot and ants, and it will not survive another decade. All three rudders are identical and of balanced design, and the bustle is "built in" using complex sawn floors with trapezoidal cross-sections.

Each floor is a single, unique timber in-corporating the varying curves of all three rudder pockets. Bottom hull planking is affixed directly to the floors to yield the flowing curves of the bustle stern. The degree of craftsmanship is extraordinary and warrants separate publication of the detailed assessment made in August 2013.

NEXT PHASES Recently we obtained a historic photo-graph showing the aftermath of a 1902 fire that destroyed two small stern-wheel

steamboats, Glenora and Mona, while in winter quarters at Steamboat Slough, upstream of Dawson City. The slough is a protected channel where vessels can overwinter and avoid ice damage dur-ing spring breakup. A combined INA/Government of Yukon team used a 6.4 m Carolina skiff and a pole-mounted Starfish 452F CHIRP side scan sonar to search the area. Two promising targets were located in shallow water but zero visibility precluded any diving. These targets will be inspected in 2014.


Modern-day view of Steamboat Slough near Dawson City.


Finally, a technological leap of faith occurred with an aerial mapping trial over Tyrrell using a DJI Phantom quad-copter equipped with an autopilot, GPS stabilization, and a video camera. These next-generation units are sophisticated yet affordable. Our trial used surveyed reference points on the deck, and re-sulted in a four-minute flight along the deck at a height of 15-18 m. Processing will use DIDGER software to georefer-ence the images, features will be digi-tized, and finally the digitized polygons

will be imported into TRAVERSE-PC to produce various maps. We have used the software before but never in conjunction with a Phantom. The technique should provide a low-cost, detailed mapping tool for foreshore and shallow water wrecks, as well as some stunning YouTube video clips.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONSThe 2013 survey team documented two rare hull designs and the potential for the future is undiminished. Both Tyrrell and

Victorian will provide insights related to the late 19th-century evolution of the North American stern-wheel steamboat, and the timing of the transition from practical to scientific shipbuilding. Detailed findings on Tyrrell will be presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology, at Quebec City in January 2014.

The support of INA, the Government of Yukon, and the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nations are gratefully acknowledged.

SUGGESTED READING

Affleck, E. L. 2000. A Century of Paddle-wheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon and Alaska. Vancouver.

Berton, P. 2007. The Great Klondike Gold Rush: an Omnibus. Calgary.

Corbin, A., and B.A. Rodgers. 2008. The Steamboat Montana and the Opening of the West. Gainesville, FL.

Davidge, D. A., J. C. Pollack, D. Reid, L. Thomas, T. Dowd and J. P. Delgado. 2010. The Wreck of the A.J. Goddard. Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology Pro-ceedings 2010

Hunter, L.C. 1949. Steamboats on the Western Rivers.

Kane, A.L. 2004. The Western River Steamboat. College Station, TX.

Petsche, J. 1974. The Steamboat Ber-trand: History, Excavation and Architecture.

Pollack, J., R. Woodward, N. Easton and C. Velazquez. 2009. Ships of the Yukon Gold Rush. Advisory Council on Underwa-ter Archaeology Proceedings, 287-297.

Pollack, J., R. Woodward, L. Thomas, and P. Helland. 2010. Mapping Hull Construc-tion and Engineering on a Late 19th-Century Yukon River Steamboat. Advi-sory Council on Underwater Archaeology Proceedings 2010.

Pollack, J. and R. Woodward. 2013.Yukon Hulks and Ships Graveyards in the Archae-ology of Watercraft Abandonment, 153-173.


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KEEP IN TOUCH WITH INA

New in paperback, from the Ed Rachal Foundation Nautical Archaeology Series

USS MonitorA Historic Ship Completes Its Final Voyage

John D. BroaDwater

Lavish illustrations complement this informative and highly readable account of the more than 100-year-old Civil War armored warship that disappeared under the sea and was excavated and recovered under the auspices of the National Oceanic Atmospheric

Administration and the US Navy.

81/2x11. 338 pp. 189 color, 161 b&w photos. Bib. Index. $39.95 cloth; $24.95 paper

Praise for USS Monitor:

“. . . definitive account of the resurrection of the warship that

forever changed naval combat. . . . describes in fascinating detail the discovery and raising of the USS Monitor’s evolutionary revolving

turret and its unique steam engine. Broadwater leaves no artifact

unstudied, nor mystery unsolved. This is a drama as intriguing as it is

spellbinding.”

—ClIve CUSSler, underwater explorer and author of the ongoing Dirk Pitt series

800.826.8911 Fax: 888.617.2421 www.tamupress.com Texas a&M UniversiTy Press

New in paperback, from the Ed Rachal Foundation Nautical Archaeology Series

USS MonitorA Historic Ship Completes Its Final Voyage

John D. BroaDwater

Lavish illustrations complement this informative and highly readable account of the more than 100-year-old Civil War armored warship that disappeared under the sea and was excavated and recovered under the auspices of the National Oceanic Atmospheric

Administration and the US Navy.

81/2x11. 338 pp. 189 color, 161 b&w photos. Bib. Index. $39.95 cloth; $24.95 paper

Praise for USS Monitor:

“. . . definitive account of the resurrection of the warship that

forever changed naval combat. . . . describes in fascinating detail the discovery and raising of the USS Monitor’s evolutionary revolving

turret and its unique steam engine. Broadwater leaves no artifact

unstudied, nor mystery unsolved. This is a drama as intriguing as it is

spellbinding.”

—ClIve CUSSler, underwater explorer and author of the ongoing Dirk Pitt series

800.826.8911 Fax: 888.617.2421 www.tamupress.com Texas a&M UniversiTy Press

Documents

2013 YUKON RIVER STEAMBOAT SURVEY in INA Quarterly 40.3